In The Creative Side of Research: The Anatomy of a Creative Essay, essayist and writing teacher Amy Shea shares the power of incorporating research into your narrative nonfiction, longform essay, and creative nonfiction.

April 22, 2023, 10-12am on Zoom

How does a writer decide when, how, and how much research to include in a creative essay? In this workshop, discussion will focus on the reasons for including research, how research can improve an essay, considerations on how to format and present the facts, how to balance between critical and creative elements, and enhancing the braided elements of research and narrative through literary elements such as voice, tone, and register. This workshop will include time for both close reading and writing practice. Examples of narrative nonfiction and longform journalism will be reviewed, including a dissection of Shea’s longform essay, “Deaths of Disparity,” published in The Massachusetts Review.

Write on any topic from a personal point of view, pulling in external research You can work on something you’ve started, or start something you’ve been wanting to.

$35 public/$20 members

About Amy Shea

Amy Shea is an essayist with a PhD and MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Glasgow. Her work has appeared in The Missouri Review, Pangyrus, Portland Review, The Massachusetts Review, Spry Literary Journal, Fat City Review, From Glasgow to Saturn, End of Life Studies Group Blog & the Journal of Sociology of Health & Illness. She works as the Writing Program Director for Mount Tamalpais College, a free community college for the incarcerated people of San Quentin. Learn more at https://amysshea.com.